As Romney’s schedule is affected by Hurricane Sandy, local campaign offices help with relief efforts

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan meet at the Akron-Canton airport in Ohio. Both Romney and President Obama are focusing heavily on Ohio and other swing states in the final weeks of the campaign. (Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

As Hurricane Sandy neared East Coast on Sunday evening, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney canceled his third event of the day to be held in Virginia. Consequently, Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan attended three joint rallies in Ohio, one of the swing states in this election.

“Governor Romney’s concern is the safety and well-being of those in the path of Hurricane Sandy,” Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said early Monday morning. According to her, Romney has been in contact with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Originally, Romney’s schedule for today included a morning rally in Ohio, followed by events in Illinois and Iowa, finishing with a rally in Wisconsin. Ryan was expected to fly from Ohio to Florida today, where he was to hold rallies in Jacksonville, Melbourne and Lakeland.

“I want to mention that our hearts and prayers are with all the people in the storm’s path. Sandy is another devastating hurricane by all accounts, and a lot of people are going to be facing some real tough times as a result of Sandy’s fury,” Romney told supporters at his morning rally in Avon Lake, Ohio.

Late Monday morning, communications director Gail Gitcho announced more significant changes to Romney/Ryan campaign schedule, saying that Romney’s event in Wisconsin and Ryan’s events in Florida for the day have been canceled. As for Tuesday, Gitcho said:

“We are also canceling all events currently schedule for both Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan on Tuesday. Governor Romney believes this is a time for the nation and its leaders to come together to focus on those Americans who are in harms way. We will provide additional details regarding Governor Romney’s and Congressman Ryan’s schedule when they are available.”

While Romney might not be campaigning in the states most affected by the Hurricane Sandy, his campaign is being proactive and in Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, the campaign offices are collecting supplies for local relief efforts, reports CNN. In Virginia, the campaign bus is being utilized to deliver such supplies.

The campaigns are taking all necessary precautions to make sure that all of their staff are safe. Obama campaign spokesman Adam Fetcher said:

“The campaign is closely monitoring the storm and we are taking all necessary precautions to make sure our staff and volunteers are safe. Where it’s safe to do so, our historic grassroots organization is running at full speed in eastern battleground states to persuade undecided voters and get our supporters out to the polls between now and Election Day.”

As early as Saturday, Romney’s campaign encouraged its Twitter followers to support the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts by donating to the Red Cross, “Please support the #Sandy relief efforts by donating to the Red Cross. Text REDCROSS to 90999 or click here: http://rdcrss.org/PSpvi2.”

President Barack Obama, himself sent out a tweet Sunday evening, saying: “If you’re on the Eastern seaboard, please make sure to follow the instructions of your state and local officials today. Stay safe. -bo.” Late Monday morning, his campaign sent out a tweet similar to Romney’s encouraging followers to donate to Red Cross.